I wouldn't have believed MotorSport wouldn't have covered such as important event, but it seems you're right...

That was while they were in dispute with Donington over photography passes - that's also why there are no pictures in their 1938 Donington GP report. Fred Craner wasn't WB's favourite person in early 1938: see page 198 in the May edition.

Interesting!
I've never seen a 1750 ERA mentioned before. Was this R4D at an interim stage in its development from 1.5 to 2 litres?
Or a move up a class to take a class win that struck lucky and took an overall win?

Mays used the 1748cc engine in the International Trophy, where the class split was an unusual 1750cc. He sometimes used it in hillclimbs too: to take the cynical view that might have been in order to ensure a class win in the event he didn't get FTD - if anything was going to beat him at Shelsley or Prescott it was likely to be Fane's single-seater Frazer Nash, which would therefore have also won the 1500cc class.

As an off-topic aside, why the fervent injunction that "Race Numbers Must Not Be Published" on the 9 April programme?

Neil

Probably to stop advance betting?

Simply to make sure spectators bought a programme on the day. That one is overprinted "advance copy", so was presumably originally a press freebie: all three motoring weeklies - and The Times - used to publish previews of major meetings which included entry lists. But not the numbers, which could have deprived the organisers of several thousand shillings if people simply tore the list out of their daily paper or weekly motoring magazine.

Simply to make sure spectators bought a programme on the day. That one is overprinted "advance copy", so was presumably originally a press freebie: all three motoring weeklies - and The Times - used to publish previews of major meetings which included entry lists. But not the numbers, which could have deprived the organisers of several thousand shillings if people simply tore the list out of their daily paper or weekly motoring magazine.

I have seen several examples of this on UK race programmes pre-WW2, mainly Donington but also Crystal Palace.

If one goes back further other approaches were used to maximise programme sales, including changing the cars' numbers between practice and race day, or, in the very early days, not carrying numbers at all until race day.

I have seen several examples of this on UK race programmes pre-WW2, mainly Donington but also Crystal Palace.

If one goes back further other approaches were used to maximise programme sales, including changing the cars' numbers between practice and race day, or, in the very early days, not carrying numbers at all until race day.

Tony

The Belgians also did the "change numbers from practice to the race" trick post-WW2. It complicates things when identifying photos (DSJ commented on being caught out a few years afterwards when he was looking at what turned out to be practice pics)